"i know what i know when i write it." – Wayson Choy

Main menu

Post navigation

Further evidence that life is about process, not destination

How many of you like to go on vacation? Where do you go? Mexico, Japan, India, Italy, Spain, France? If you’re like me, it’s fun to explore different cultures and places and learn a new language. On vacation, I often like trying new things and being in that state of mind where I am free to decide whatever I please. As ideally as I’d like to live that way everyday, I find myself tied down to my worries, expectations, and appointments; obviously I can’t leave class halfway through semester to go fishing at whim (well I could, but that would be irresponsible and against my greater goals) but alas, that’s why I set aside time for vacation, which isn’t necessarily the place I’m going to but what I’m doing while I”m there.

When I’m on vacation I like to structure some activities and have a few things in mind that I want to do, but not be rushed to complete them in a hurry. For example, my last trip to Mexico, I had a snorkeling trip set out as well as a trip to Chitchen-Itza. But for the most part, my schedule was free to change and flexible to accomodate any spontaneous plans.

The feeling of vacation is the mode I’m in which is open to limitless possibilities and allows me the opportunity to relax and breathe. It is a state of being, not a place. Sure we take vacations in relaxing places, but for the most part we are searching for that feeling. Of being unwound and loose and lazy as a summer dog.

And vacations for that matter do not have to be far away, they can be brief escapes from a hard day’s work with a tea in hand and a private view of the landscape.

Now I’ve got to go to class, but ponder how you can make a vacation possible and then plan it. Now is a busy time of the year and when you’re under the compost of paper work and assignments, you’ll want to have that vacation – that feeling – to get you through it.

To me, just thinking about my next vacation puts me at ease. Maybe because it’s Friday. Nonetheless, once I know what I have planned, I am free to enjoy the process. The afternoon tea on the beach in Hawaii with an old friend may be at 1:30, but it’s the unlimited time allotted to the tea time that is the relaxation.